What's All the Locomotion About?

I just had my Plastic Wunderkar (1999 Saturn Coupe) in the shop for some maintenance.  The trick to keeping one's car lasting a long time is to show it you care no more than 2 times a year.  No car washes.  Forget 'regularly scheduled' oil changes.  And the floors? Only vacuumed because  I was too embarassed for a stranger to see how messy she was.  Well, after an oil change, rotated tires, and a replace air filter (the last one was entirely blackened and came with its very own assortment of debris), she runs like a dream.

While I was at the shop at an ungodly 6:54 AM*, I was discussing with the technician the proper care for my car for the future.  You see, as of this June she is classified as a "high mileage car" after celebrating her hundred-thousandth mile.  I think this qualifies us for some sort of discount at Perkins, right?  The technician asked "How many miles would you say you have put on her in the last year?"  And I thought about it, and remembered the sticker I had pulled of the windshield that would have indicated I was approximately 1000 miles overdue for an oil change and then realized my last oil change was September 2009**.  11 months ago.  Which means, I put about 4500 miles on the Wunderkar in a year. 

Such low mileage on my vehicle, you must be thinking that graduate school makes young adults into total hermits who stew in their home for days drinking stale coffee, eating cheesy crackers, and muttering incoherent absurdities about social theory and the spread of pandemic flu.  And you're right; story over. 

Just kidding (kind of).  In the last two years, multiple forces have been pressuring me into exploring alternate modes of moving myself- and occasionally my crap- from one place to another without getting into my car.  First, the field of public health is filled to the brim with health-food hippies, germophobic liberals, and green planet paratroopers.  Which I love.  But it does create a lot of interesting social pressures sometimes: eat veggies, not Kit Kats.  Work out, don't watch movies all night and drink your weight in hot chocolate.  Bike or take public transit, don't drive.  So I bought a bus pass and that opened up all kinds of new wonderful-- I could bus to school, bus to downtown, bus to the store!  Then I started biking more and I could bike to work, bike to the store, bike to races! And I moved somewhere that had almost everything I needed in a few blocks radius and I could walk to get coffee, walk to work out, walk to the bar, walk to the tattoo parlor (just kidding!). 

As you mostly know, I have traded my urban apartment with "character" for suburban basement living while I am between phases of life and thus have traded my mode of transportation to: the Light Rail!  There is a whole lot I could say about riding the train- the people are interesting, the security is sometimes oppressively good, and the train is consistently kept at a frigid 59 degrees. But it is lovely in a million ways!  There is no epic, traffic-jam ridden drives, no out of control parking fees downtown, keeps my gas guzzling to a minimum, and I have completed more books by reading on the train than ever before***. 

Just bought my first non-student pass for the train.  Helloooooooo, cheap and easy commute.  Where do I get my green planet paratrooper outfit, hat, and button? 


*I didn't always know there was even a 6:54 AM.  I miss school. 
** I know, I know, I know, Mom and Dad, that I should be changing my oil more often regardless of mileage.  But really, on a scale of Never to Always, my track record for timely responsibility hovers where? That's what I thought, so this news is not likely surprising anyone. 
***Post-grad school spoiler alert: When you finish school you can READ FOR FUN! Did you know that existed?! I had totally totally forgotten...

$0.02

That's about how much change I made.  But, I got in to futzing with it and it turns out I don't want the background of my blog to look like a giant watermelon.  I like to eat it, but I am not a watermelon-bloggin' kinda girl.  And I was afraid of being lame with black text on a white background, so you will notice the nice cool grey.

I can't promise this will last.  We'll see.  Old settings are saved and ready to be redeployed at a moment's notice.

But! You will notice, maybe right about -------------------- HERE! (Look down) that you can share my posts via email, Facebook, and stuff... if you wanted.

Do you have any spare change?

Change [cheynj]; (verb, used with object): to transform or convert

The witch changed the prince into a toad.*

I was going to make a list of things that were bad to change-- and then I couldn't really think of any.  It seemed that even what might be a "bad change" (changing your name) came out of a not-so-bad consequence (getting married).  Some changes we make every day are good- like changing our underoos**.  And sometimes we make changes we didn't really want to, but they're not a bad change.  Or the downside is only on one side of the change equation.  For example, I just moved from my Uptown apartment with the most lovely ladies (see image below) to my sister's new home because I didn't want to sign a year long lease in any city in which I was not guaranteed a year-long job.  You see, I am sometimes capable of not making foolish decisions.  So this is not a bad change.  I appreciate having a place to live in which I do not feel that I have to sell vital organs to afford, I like hanging out with my sister and her husband, I can tolerate a suburban neighborhood over the urban buzz I am used to***.  But, I do miss 'my girls.' Again, reference image below for visual representation of our awesomeness.  

Luckily, I am not someone who is adverse to change, I merely have a longer time than some getting settled in to it.  Interestingly, there are some things I like to change frequently, particularly my aesthetic surroundings.  I love to rearrange stuff, hang new art, mix it up.  Which is why moving should be so pleasant for people like me.  So, I have changed my living environment aesthetics and-- here's the punchline-- this whole post is to prepared you for the fact that now my e-environment aesthetics are changing.  So get ready, the blog is about to look different.  Which won't matter to most of you because you read it via email or some RSS Feed which turns it into boredom right before your eyes by ascribing to it some standard, universal format.  Meh. 

Okay, that is all.  And! I am going to blog more, maybe, I think (I hope).  I certainly mean to, but now I have noticed that you guys aren't coming back! Probably because there's nothing to read, so I don't blame you.  Fixing this by updating the look and considering the topics you might like to here me complain about/wax poetically on the most.  

* I used the second definition of change because the first was the length of a novella and because this is the most superior "use it in a sentence" example I have ever seen.  That witch is always changing them into toads...

**Not doing that everyday?! Start.  Today.  Change 'em twice today to catch yourself up.  

*** Guess what I don't miss?  Ambulance sirens and screaming drunk girls on the corner at 2:30 am.  Good riddance, you miserable girls with no concept of sleeping neighbors.